Richie’s TD sparks N. Illinois to 17-14 win over W. Michigan
Tyrice Richie catches the shovel pass, rolls over a defender and keeps going for a 71-yard touchdown for Northern Illinois. (1:04)
DEKALB, Ill. -- Tyrice Richie took a shovel pass in the Northern Illinois backfield, added an acrobatic flip over a would-be tackler near midfield and turned it all into a 71-yard touchdown to spark the Huskies to a 17-14 win over Western Michigan in the season finale Tuesday night.
Michael Love tossed a 7-yard scoring pass to Mitchell Brinkman midway through the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Down 10-0 at intermission, LeVante Bellamy brought Western Michigan back with second-half touchdown runs of 6- and 16-yards.
The victory moves the Huskies to 4-4 in the Mid-America Conference in Thomas Hammock's first season as head coach at his alma mater. Overall NIU finished 5-7, with a string of four straight losses early in the season to Utah, Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Ball State.
NIU finished with 250 yards of total offense in the game. Richie's 71-yard catch made up most of the team's 93-yard passing total.
Bellamy finished with 21 carries for 128 yards to lead Western Michigan (7-5, 5-3).
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2020 Mid-American Conference Standings
TEAM | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
Buffalo | 5-0 | 6-1 |
Kent State | 3-1 | 3-1 |
Miami (OH) | 2-1 | 2-1 |
Ohio | 2-1 | 2-1 |
Akron | 1-5 | 1-5 |
Bowling Green | 0-5 | 0-5 |
TEAM | CONF | OVR |
Ball State | 5-1 | 7-1 |
Western Michigan | 4-2 | 4-2 |
Toledo | 4-2 | 4-2 |
Central Michigan | 3-3 | 3-3 |
Eastern Michigan | 2-4 | 2-4 |
Northern Illinois | 0-6 | 0-6 |